4x4 Evolution

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GOD's first PS2 racer, despite improvements from the Dreamcast version, still misses the mark.

By Douglass C. Perry

Quite some time after Terminal Reality's PC and Dreamcast versions of 4x4 Evolution hit their respective systems, the company decided to deliver the same kind of rugged, SUV experience to PlayStation 2 owners, many of whom probably already own Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). Well, I don't own an SUV because they're gas hogs and they're slow, but most are sturdy and can handle the dirt road better than say, my weak little Jetta Trek can. They have power and torque and can handle stuff like mountains and whatnot. You know, you've seen the Chevy "Like a Rock" ads.

That's the desired gameplay experience here, a wide-open, cutting corners-style joyride that enables gamers to play dozens of licensed SUVs and trucks in the country. GOD's 4x4 Evolution, however, may deliver a good game for casual fans of SUVs (which easily can be argued the other way), but as a racing game, 4X4 leaves much to be desired. The simplistic, jerky controls and unrealistic feel, combined with floaty physics make for a racing experience that is frustrating and mundane. I didn't like it, and I don't recommend it.

Gameplay The game's strengths and weaknesses may balance out in some folks' minds, but in this gamer's mind, after hours of playing through the four modes of play and digging deep into the Career mode, I can honestly say that 4x4 Evolution isn't much fun at all. It may be deep with crazy trucks and SUVs, it may enable you to tinker with them, adjusting and modifying until they're fast, powerful and beastly, but I don't want any part of it. The three major reasons behind my logic are these: 1. The trucks are slow and dull to drive; 2. The physics are floaty and unresponsive; and 3. The final result of these two elements creates a frustrating experience that's more annoying than it is fun, and which, despite the allure of the popular trucks themselves, doesn't create a racing experience nearly as fun as say, Smuggler's Run, the closest thing on the PS2 to 4x4 Evo.

I'll explain: 1. The trucks are slow and dull to drive. These things are lugs. They feel and move slow, and the races rarely appear as if any other cars are on the roads. It's just boring. There are occasional events in which opponent cars smash you out of place, in which case, you're very unlikely to get back into the race at all. Instead of even trying you might as well just restart the level. It's not only boring, it's unforgiving. 2. These cars not only move like freight trains, but the floaty physics and bouncy shocks make for an unsatisfying experience. Again, if you have been pushed out of the race and end up on your side, you might as well just quit, because you'll never catch up. The physics make the car feel like at any time it's about to loose control. Some may call that the whole point, but I call it poor control. Or at the very least, control that misses the point control. 3. Even though the cars are the actual licensed things, they just aren't that much fun to race. The sense of speed is not up to par with any other racer on the system (sans RC Revenge Pro), and the matches are empty, listless competitions. Even the feel for each car is hardly noticeable. I wish I liked it better, but the more I try to come up with good reasons to like this game, the more reasons I think up for disliking it.

But... if you own an SUV, you may still want this. After all, SUV owners may want to race these things. So...if that's you, you can attack 4x4's play the game in four gameplay modes, all of which are standard racing fare: Quick Race, Time Attack, Career mode, and Versus. In case you have never played a racing game before, Quick Race enables players to pick any car in the garage to drive against three computer opponents in a single race. Time Attack is a single race against your own ghost car and is designed to get players to post their best times on a racing board, and Versus pits two humans against one another. The two-player races are standard fare, and aren't terribly intriguing. It's too bad that there isn't a four-player mode. The most intriguing mode is, of course, Career, in which earning money through dozens of tournaments, a la Gran Turismo, enables players to buy parts and modify their cars. This is the game's real kernel.